First time in a Saturday slot for Italicus who is more usually, though rarely, seen on a Monday. So I was expecting something a little less tricky than what I found.
I can’t have been on the setter’s wave length when I solved this. I got the theme early on (I don’t think the setter’s intention was to totally obscure it) which helped with a few of the answers, but not the finish.
I case you hadn’t noticed, what with the Winter Olympics and FA Cup football and all the other sport trying to distract us, today is the first day of the Six Nations Rugby Union tournament.
Scotland-England Calcutta Cup match this afternoon is today’s highlight – the funny looking triple cobra handled cup with an elephant on top made of melted down rupees is currently in Scotland and the depleted England team are there to see if they can drag it back south of the border. They are the underdogs this year. I’ll be watching, and I’ll always cheer an underdog – as long as it’s an entertaining match and I’ve got enough beer.
I played rugby at school (yes, one of those schools) and was tall, strong and fit(-ish) so I was a natural Lock forward. I never rose beyond the 3rd XV, the “glorious turds”, though I really enjoyed playing whether or not we won (I remember some absurdly mis-matched games with other schools). It was only later, watching the game on TV, I realised that at the time I never had a clue what I was supposed to be doing. Now I’m much happier being an armchair rugby player.
Once, on a visit a few years ago (decades) to the in-laws in France being very late due to getting unexpectedly side-tracked at a motorway stop on the A61 between Toulouse and Carcassonne. There was not only a very interesting exhibition about the Canal du Midi, but there was also a Museum of Rugby. I remember being entranced for half hour or more until rudely awoken by “That’s where you are. Come on we’ve got to go.”. I always intended to look in again sometime, but googling now it looks like it’s no more, but maybe I’ll check out the museum at Twickenham – now I know it exists …
Loads of rugby terms in the answers including most of the across answers, but Six Nations is in the downs.
Flanker, Centre, High Tackle, Drop goal, Line out, Player, Touch Judge, On the ball and Wooden Spoon
And of course Rooster. There will no doubt be some poor misbegotten cockerel seen pecking along the touchline after being released during a match in France.
Also maybe Scissors. As a running movement – I’m not sure it is allowed – is that what is also called “crossing” – an expert will no doubt advise (where is the online rugby museum when you need it?)
As mentioned, I cannot have been in the right mind for solving. I solved 13 of them, slowly, in the first pass – including the theme from 14d SIX NATIONS – with its pretty clear anagram.
But then only got a few more before putting it to one side for a break.
Hoping I’d find it easier on a re-start I whittled it down till only 5 to go.
13a TOUCH JUDGE was what I thought was going to be the final breakthrough, a lovely anagram plus inclusion that gets my favourite clue award.
That led me to get 6d SHOWJUMPER – a word I would usually write as two words (or possibly hyphenated) – this looks wrong as one word to me, of course I admit it is in the dictionaries.
Then, what else could 26a be but CENTRE which I had considered earlier but could not justify that final RE from “class”. The suggestion in the analysis below is a bit of a stretch.
The last 2 really took some brain-ache. 23d and 29a
I admit I really should have been the alternate letters mechanism for 29a earlier. It took getting the leading P for it to come clear.
And that leading P was hard won from ELOPE where I was stuck thinking on LP for “record” and the whole word “coming up”, thus looking for something matching PL??? for leave.
Somewhere ELO appeared and the sky looked bright again.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1/9 | WOODEN SPOON | Court studies motion covering national compensation for losers (6,5) WOO (court) DENS (studies) POO (motion) N[ational] |
| 4 | SCISSORS | Clippers help to crush resistance, chasing ship around Channel Islands (8) SOS (help) around (to crush) R[esistance] after (chasing) SS (ship) around CI (Channel Islands) |
| 10 | ANTWERP | An imbecile in port (7) AN (an) TWERP (imbecile) |
| 11 | ROOSTER | Love interrupts work schedule? It’s emblematic of the French! (7) O (love) inside (interrupts) ROSTER (work schedule) |
| 12 | OMEN | Retreating captain gives warning (4) NEMO< (Captain, retreating) |
| 13 | TOUCH JUDGE | Dutch jog awkwardly around bend beside European flag-bearer (5,5) (DUTCH JOG)* AInd: awkwardly, around U (bend) + E[uropean] |
| 15 | ROADIE | Echo on radio confounded sound engineer, for instance (6) E[cho] after RADIO* AInd: confounded. |
| 16 | TEEMING | Busy motorway crossed by adolescent German (7) M1 (motorway) TEEN (adolescent) G[erman] |
| 20 | FLANKER | Forward female with limp runs after earl (7) F[emale] LANK (limp) E[arl] R[uns] |
| 21 | CENTRE | Middle class gets behind church trust (6) Wordplay? CE (church) NT (National Trust) RE (class – I assume as in R.E. Religious Education, if so for my liking it is a bit of a stretch?) |
| 24 | HIGH TACKLE | Tall story about deserted creek is foul (4,6) HIGH (tall) TALE (story) about C[ree]K |
| 26/27 | DROP GOAL | Drag polo horses around 3 points in 14? (4,4) (DRAG POLO)* AInd: horses around. A drop goal has been 3 points in all Rugby Union for some years now, so I’m unsure why this clue attracted a “?” |
| 28 | LINE OUT | Jumping contest hooligan hosts in Spain (4-3) LOUT (hooligan) around (hosts) IN E[spania] (Spain) |
| 29 | PROTEGE | Part of the ogre regularly given to blue-eyed boy (7) Alternate letters of P[a]R[t] O[f] T[h]E [o]G[r]E |
| 30 | TREASURY | Attempt to conceal twisted plot involving a government department (8) TRY (attempt) around (to conceal) RUSE< (plot, twisted) around A |
| 31 | PLAYER | Old actor retired in Monterey? Al Pacino! (6) Hidden reversed in monteREY AL Pacino |
| Down | ||
| 1 | WEAPONRY | Working sustains power in tired arms (8) ON (working) under (sustains) P[ower] inside WEARY (tired) |
| 2 | ON THE BALL | Aware of where you might see Gilbert in 14? (2,3,4) Double Definition. Gilbert is the brand of peculiarly shaped ball that is used in RU |
| 3 | EVEN | First female leader of Netherlands quits (4) EVE (first female) N[etherlands] |
| 5 | CURACIES | Hound experts about Italy’s religious offices (8) CUR (hound) ACES (experts) around I[taly] |
| 6 | SHOWJUMPER | Horseman, justice and unionist politician caught in downpour (10) J[ustice] U[nionist] MP (politician) inside SHOWER (downpour) |
| 7 | OPTED | Selected bar featured in newspaper article (5) T (bar, T-bar) inside OP-ED (newspaper article) |
| 8 | SORBET | Globe enveloped by congealed icy liquid (6) ORB (globe) inside (enveloped by) SET (congealed) |
| 14 | SIX NATIONS | Sit in on sax playing competition (3,7) (SIT IN ON SAX)* AInd: playing. |
| 17 | NOTORIETY | Turning on conservative about independent film’s bad reputation (9) ON< TORY (conservative) around I[ndependent] ET (film) |
| 18 | MERCATOR | Cartographer parking motor on a hill (8) MERC (motor) A TOR (a hill) |
| 19 | LEAP YEAR | Real pay adjusted around end of June 2020, say (4,4) (REAL PAY + [jun]E)* AInd: adjusted. |
| 22 | CHALET | Initially choosing hotel over a rented holiday home (6) C[hoosing] H[otel] A LET (a rented anything) |
| 23 | ELOPE | Leave band and record ‘Coming Up’ (5) ELO (band) EP< (record, coming up) |
| 25 | GENIE | Spirit that is suppressed by dope (5) GEN (dope, knowledge) over (suppressing) I.E. (that is) |
I enjoyed this a lot with its very appropriate theme for today. I shall be glued to the television this afternoon to watch what I am expecting to be a mighty battle between Scotland and England at fortress Murrayfield.
Many thanks to Italicus for a fun challenge and to beermagnet.
BM, “scissors” is a manoeuvre where a player running diagonally across the field with the ball passes it to a teammate running the opposite diagonal behind him. A “dummy scissors” is when the front player shapes to make the pass but actually keeps the ball. The important point is that the player with the ball is in front of his teammate. “Crossing” is an illegal move where a player without the ball runs in front of his teammate with the ball thereby preventing the opposition players from making a tackle.
Thank you for today’s blog, I very much enjoyed the theme, 2d was a favourite for me. As ever in rugby, there will be a range of views on a ‘scissors’ pass, but for me, it would have to be done extremely poorly to result in a penalty for crossing, or the referee would have to be unduly harsh on a lovely play to draw in defenders and open up gaps. Although I think it is deployed in League more than Union, and if Union have come up with a way to outlaw the move, it’s further evidence (were it needed) that League is the better game….
What a cracking blog, beermagnet. As a rugby fan (whose playing career largely resembles your own), both puzzle and blog are right up my street and, of course, perfectly timed for the first Saturday of the competition. I’m sure this is the first rugby themed puzzle I’ve seen – so, having struggled my way through various footie themes, I do feel for today’s solvers who are unfamiliar with the game.
I could tick virtually anything and everything but that wouldn’t do so I’ll nominate WOODEN SPOON for its assembly of parts, SIX NATIONS for its smoothness, ROOSTER and FLANKER for the witty surfaces and ON THE BALL for the originality. Two thoughts – these days the LINEOUT is more of a lifting than a jumping competition – and it would have worked just as well as a surface. And I wonder if the ? in the clue for DROP GOAL is because a penalty goal is also worth 3 points?
Thanks Italicus also: if the nom de plume bears any relation to the nationality, I fear the WOODEN SPOON is in danger of taking up permanent residence in your trophy cabinet – unless the English shoot themselves in the foot which is always possible…
Well, I’m proof positive that you could complete and enjoy this crossword with only the most rudimentary knowledge of rugby terminology picked up who knows how. Excellent clueing and great surfaces. Favourite was the image of the poor startled earl in 20a. Thanks to Italicus.
And a very entertaining blog. I know that A61 route very well, but we never came across the rugby museum, plus I didn’t know who or what Gilbert might be in this context, so I’ve learned some stuff. Thanks to Beermagnet.
Enjoy your viewing.
Very nice. Gilbert for the ball was the only bit beyond my round ball loving ken. I thought CHALET was neat as well as many of the themed clues. I always thought a sound engineer was a cut above a ROADIE but that’s splitting hairs. I couldn’t parse CENTRE.
My heart sank when I realised what the theme was but in the event I could cobble together most of the answers without tearing my hair out. Just Gilbert who needed investigation, thought he might be a legendary figure on the field of play.
The retreating captain made me smile so OMEN takes my gold star today.
Thanks to Italicus for keeping this within the realms of possibility for one who is constantly amazed that the ‘sport’ hasn’t been banned on the grounds of health & safety and thanks also to beermagnet for the review.
My rugby-playing days are so long ago I hardly recognise the modern game. Nevertheless we soon spotted the theme and worked through this at a cracking pace, only held up by the 23/29 crossers till the final lightbulb moment. Our favourites were WOODEN SPOON (though we only saw the parsing after we’d written it in from crossing letters), NOTORIETY and MERCATOR.
Thanks, Italicus and beermagnet
Excellent puzzle with great surfaces. I failed on ELOPE, though, being stuck with PL and three uncooperative letters. I also played rugby in school (badly) but beermagnet’s comments have reminded me to complain about how abysmal the sports education was in those days. One was supposed to pick up games naturally without anyone explaining any technique. Probably the result of the teachers being as ignorant as their charges. It was only later in life that I discovered that I was not actually a klutz after all, or at least not that much of one.
Thanks both. Needed help with MERCATOR not knowing the word, and being convinced that ‘parking’ was indicating initial letter P. Foolishly i knew Gilbert as the ball manufacturer but entered on the case as the brand is printed on the casing.
Well, I think I played rugby at school, and we weren’t at all posh – a grammar school in Co. Durham – but I remember little about it, and the other boys were much more interested football. (I’ve since got interested in American football. It’s the Super Bowl next week. I doubt we’ll get an NFL themed puzzle.)
Still, I didn’t have too much trouble with this with only a couple at the end requiring extra work. There’s just been an xkcd cartoon about map projections so MERCATOR was a write-in.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading the preamble to the blog. The joy of amateur sport.
Thanks, beermagnet and Italicus